Mischief's Captain, Part 1
by KJ Humphrey
Summary: Rinah Wolff was a soldier in Odin's army...or so she thought.


**Mischief's Captain – Part 1**

"What do you mean, I'm not being promoted?" she asked, incredulously.

"I'm sorry, Sergeant", the Commander answered, "There is nothing I can do".

"My aptitude scores were higher, and I beat him in the combat test. Clearly I'm the better soldier and deserve the rank."

"But you're not full-blooded Asgardian", the Commander said gently. Still, the words cut her like a knife. She stood there for a moment, collecting herself. She was, after all, a soldier talking to her Commander, and she was already pushing it with how she had addressed him.

"Yes, Sir", she said, keeping her voice under control. "May I be dismissed now, Sir?"

The Commander nodded, but said nothing. She turned and left. She walked to her favorite quiet spot, located just under the Bifrost.

There she sat down, at the edge of the waters that ran to the edge of Asgard. Asgard - the Realm Eternal, the place where she had made her home, but not the place in which she had been born.

Her name was Rinah Wolff. She had been born on Midgard, to a Midgardian mother and an Asgardian father. Her father had been a soldier in Odin's army. He came to Midgard on leave after a hard-fought war, fell in love with her mother...and nine months later, Rinah came along. Her father, of course, had long since returned to Asgard, though he did visit occasionally. Then her mother fell ill, very ill. Her father spent the last days of her mother's life by her side. And then, once she was dead, Rinah and her father rode the Bifrost to Asgard, where she moved from childhood into womanhood.

It was not an easy road. The Asgardians were nice enough, and no-one mistreated her. But she was never fully accepted, either. She was not fully one of them, and everyone knew it. She felt it, in their looks, in their whispers behind her back. It had gotten worse after her father was killed in battle. She lost her strongest advocate when he died. There was only so much that she was allowed to do, only so far she could advance, being a child of two worlds as she was.

And now, once again, she had come upon a door that was closed to her.

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"You've got to block the strike, like this", Rinah's father took her wrist and guided the wooden sword into a blocking position while he brought his own wooden sword forward in a slow strike. She was 10 years old, and she loved to hear stories of her father's battles, and to play soldier with him.

"Would my two valiant warriors like something to eat?" Rinah's mother said, as she came out to the back porch with a tray. On it were glasses of milk, and fresh brownies still warm from the oven.

"Oh boy, brownies!" young Rinah exclaimed, as she dropped her sword and bounded for the porch. Her father followed, walking, behind her.

"My dear", he chided Rinah gently, "a warrior does not drop their sword on the field when the brownies come out". He handed Rinah her wooden sword. "A warrior's sword is as near to them as their own soul. They take care of their sword, knowing that very often their lives are relying on that sword".

"I'm sorry, dad", Rinah took the sword, blushing. "I won't do it again".

"That's my good girl", her father smiled down at her and tousled her hair. "Now, let's tear into these brownies while they're still warm."

Rinah grinned from ear-to-ear, as she reached out and took a brownie. Biting into it, she closed her eyes. "Yum, so good", she said, her mouth full of brownie. "Mom, you make the best brownies in all the realms."

Rinah's mom smirked and arched her eyebrows. "'Realms?' Your father has been telling you stories of his adventures again, hasn't he?"

"Yep", young Rinah beamed, as she took another bite of her brownie. "When I grow up, I want to be in Odin's army, just like dad. I'll have a real metal sword and everything!"

"I see", said Rinah's mom, as she shot a look and a smirk towards her husband. "Well, if you're going to be in Odin's army, you're going to have to do your math homework. Finish your brownie and then up to your room with you".

"Yes, ma'am", Rinah said, as she took a drink of milk and then turned her attention back to the brownie.

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It was a beautiful morning on the practice field. Rinah had gotten there early, because she enjoyed having a few quiet moments to herself out there. The sun was low on the horizon, and she could see it reflecting on the dew that had formed on the trodden grass the night before. The birds were greeting the new day with song, and the air was fresh. She closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath, savoring the air. Moments like this grounded her, and she sorely needed that after being told the day before that she was being passed over for promotion.

"I thought I might find you here", said a familiar voice behind her.

Rinah smiled. "Good morning, Narelen". She turned around and greeted her friend and fellow soldier. Narelen - or Nar, as Rinah liked to call her - had entered Odin's army the same time that Rinah had, and was at the same rank. They told each other everything.

"So, no promotion?" Nar asked.

"Nope." Rinah had started sharpening her sword and have the stone an aggravated swipe down the blade. "Apparently half Asgardians don't get to be officers."

"I'm sorry, Rin", Nar said, patting her friend on the shoulder. "I'd take a half Asgardian officer over a half ass officer any day", she chuckled at her own word play.

Rin smiled at the joke, as she kept sharpening her sword. "Nothing I can do about it. So….I will continue to serve this realm, as much as they will let me. Maybe, in time, I can change their mind."

"Good on you for not giving up", Nar nodded. She looked and could see other soldiers approaching. Practice would begin soon. "We'd better get ready."

Practice started as normal, with formation and being broken into groups to work on weapons and hand-to-hand skills. Rinah had been paired with a fairly large fellow to drill on hand-to-hand combat. She'd taken some hits, but she'd also given quite a few. Secretly, she was enjoying it because it gave her a chance to channel some of her frustration. She had the fellow on the ground with his arm pinned behind his back when she heard a chuckle coming from behind her. Perplexed, she turned around to see Odin, the All-Father, sitting astride his horse Sleipnir and looking down at her with his one good eye. She quickly got up off her sparring partner's back and knelt before her king, her right hand fisted over her heart in a sign of allegiance.

Odin looked at her for a moment, considering something. He then dismounted his horse, never breaking eye contact with her. Others in the area were now aware of his presence among them, and they cleared a space around him as they stopped fighting and knelt before him. He looked down at her for a moment longer, before raising his eyes to all those gathered around him.

"As you were, warriors." He then pointed down at Rinah. "I would like to spar with this one myself. Tell me, my dear, how are you with daggers?"

Rinah rose and felt a mixture of excitement and fear at the prospect of sparring with the All-Father. "I am fair with daggers, my King", she said. One of the king's attendants brought him a pair of daggers, and offered Rinah a pair as well. She took them, thanked the attendant, and readied herself for the contest.

Odin made the first move, and the contest began. Back and forth it went, one striking, the other blocking, like a well choreographed dance. Neither one seemed to really get an upper hand on the other. The others watching started to get amazed looks on their faces, as Rinah held her own against the All-Father. For his part, Odin seemed to be enjoying himself, smiling often and sometimes chuckling as he would strike, and block, and strike again. This went on for several minutes, before Odin knocked Rinah to the ground and pinned her, holding a dagger to her throat.

He smiled down at her. "Do you yield, my dear?" he asked, a bit out of breath.

"Yes, my King. I yield", came the answer, considerably more out of breath.

Odin got up off of Rinah, transferred the daggers to one hand, and offered his other hand to her to help her up. She sheepishly put her own daggers down and took his hand, getting up off the ground while the attendant gathered up all the daggers. Another attendant brought Odin a chalice of wine, which he took a drink from, before turning at offering it to Rinah. She gratefully accepted it, and took a drink.

"You fight extremely well, my dear. What is your name?" Odin asked.

"Sergeant Rinah Wolff, my King."

Odin spun around. "Sergeant? How is it that you're a Sergeant, when you fight like that? Only the best of my warriors can stand against me as long as you did today."

Rinah blushed slightly and looked down, before answering softly, "I'm not fully Asgardian, my King. My mother was of Midgard. Therefore I cannot serve my King as an officer in his army."

Odin stepped forward, placing a finger under Rinah's chin and raising it, so that her eyes met his one good one. She could feel that eye piercing into her, and she wondered if she had said too much. Then Odin's face softened. "An outdated rule", he said softly. "It should not matter your parentage, but your loyalty and your skill. You have both of those in abundance, my dear Rinah. And I will see to it that you are made a Captain in my army."

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Captain Rinah Wolff was enjoying some time at her favorite spot underneath the Bifrost when she heard a commotion of people above. Perplexed, she made her way up the slope to the bridge, and joined a group of people gathered there. She quietly milled among them, listening and watching for clues as to what was causing this commotion.

"I can't believe he's back", she heard one say, evidently shocked.

"All this time…", an older man said, shaking his head in dismay.

"What's going to happen now?" A third asked, looking concerned.

She wasn't getting much information from what she was hearing. Something had happened, and the people were shaken by it. But what? She jumped up onto an elevated part of the bridge and looked towards the end of the Bifrost, where Heimdall stood watch to protect the realm. She saw two men walking away from her, down the bridge. Both were tall, and both wore the clothes of Midgard. The blonde headed man wore faded jeans and a hoodie, and he carried an umbrella. The other man had raven-black hair, and wore a black suit. They both seemed familiar to her, and yet she wasn't sure - it had been years since she had seen either. Could it be?

She jumped down from her perch and approached one of the Asgardians in the group.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"L...Loki….", the woman stammered, "h….he's not dead. He's been here the whole time. As the All-Father. Thor came back, and they had words, and that's when Loki revealed himself. All this time, since the report of his death, he's actually been our king".

Rinah felt shocked, and shaken. She jumped back up and looked towards the two men leaving Asgard, until they were out of sight. Even for a time after she could no longer see them, she continued to stare, filled with conflicting thoughts and feelings.

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She didn't know what to do, or even how to feel. They had been gone a long time, Thor and Loki, and so much had changed in so short a time. In the vacuum left by both the brothers being gone, this evil creature named Hela had taken over the kingdom. Rinah was one of few soldiers remaining, and now she was hiding out in Asgard's wilderness, helping citizens find their way to safety and fighting against Hela's horde of undead soldiers. She had seen so many of her comrades fall to Hela's wrath. Would this have been prevented if the All-Father had been here? Would this have been prevented if the brothers had been here? She did not know.

The people laid the blame at Loki's feet. They said he was the one who started all this, by putting Odin under his spell and removing him from the throne. She did not disagree with them, and yet she felt a little conflicted by it all. If Loki returned, and was made to answer for what he had done, how would she feel? It was Loki, not Odin, who she had fought on the field that day. It was Loki, not Odin, who saw beyond her origin to who she was and what she could do. It was Loki, not Odin, who had made her Captain in his army. She sighed heavily. None of that mattered now. There was no army left to captain. At the rate this was all going, they'd be lucky to survive. Asgard was falling.

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Things always happen so quickly in the heat of battle. You don't have time to think things out, you act purely from instinct. And it was her instinct to stay alive, to kill as many of these undead as were trying to kill her. They had tried to evacuate Asgard by Bifrost, but their way was blocked. Now they were pinned from both sides along the bridge, with nowhere to go, fighting for their existence in what seemed increasingly hopeless circumstances.

She didn't hear the ship approach, and was barely aware of the booming voice that came from it, with words she couldn't make out. What she was aware of what a shift in the energy of the battle. It felt less desperate, less hopeless. Suddenly there were others fighting along with them, creatures she didn't recognize. The Asgardians were evacuating, getting on the ship that had appeared. She knew that she had to defend the citizens so they could get on the ship - to her last breath, if need be.

The day became bright white, and the Bifrost shook with the force of the thunder. She looked up to see his approach - Thor was here. He was a ways from her position, fighting as she was close to the ship. But renewed hope surged through her at the Thunderer's appearance. A few moments later she caught a glint off to her side and glanced just long enough to see a golden, horned helmet in the midst of the fight. Loki was here too. Both of them fighting for Asgard's survival. Perhaps, just perhaps, all was not lost.

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Rinah made her way among the wounded on the ship, offering what aid she could. Precious few had survived. She had seen the destruction of her home with her own eyes. But Asgard - its people - survived. Thor was now their king, and his brother Loki was by his side. They were on their way to Midgard, to make a new home for the few that remained.

She needed more medical supplies, so she wandered the ship in the hopes of finding some. They had evacuated so quickly, taking only themselves and the clothes on their backs, with no supplies save what was on the ship already. She turned a corner in the corridor when she saw him ahead of her, black hair and green cape flowing as he walked.

"Loki", she called out, as she quickened her pace to catch up with him. He turned and looked at her, not recognizing her for a moment. Then a smile spread across his face.

"Rinah", he said softly, "I'm glad you have survived, my dear."

"Ki….Prince Loki….I was wondering….may I speak with you for a moment?" Rinah asked. She was feeling uncomfortable, her heart pounding, but there was something she wanted to say to him, and she may only ever get this one chance.

Loki looked at her for a moment, his eyes feeling like they were piercing through to her very soul. "Of course", he said, as he motioned her into a room off the corridor. She nodded and entered the room, Loki following her, pressing a button to close the door behind them.

She turned and looked at him, as conflicting thoughts and emotions rose within her. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Loki, I….I don't really know where to start. I guess I should start with 'thank you'. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for looking past the rules and traditions and seeing me for who I truly am, and what I am able to do. I am forever grateful for that…" she trailed off.

Loki stepped forward and put his hands gently on her shoulders. "My dear", he said, looking into her eyes with a soft gaze, "you know my story, so you know I understand what that feels like. When you look at me, do you see a Jotunn, an enemy of Asgard?"

"No, Loki", Rinah answered, "I see a son of Odin, a Prince of Asgard, one who fought with us and saved us from extinction. I see the God of Mischief, to whom I pledged my sword when I thought I was pledging it to Odin."

"And when I look at you, Rinah Wolff, I do not see a woman who is half Midgardian. I see a warrior of Asgard, strong and fierce, who any king would be honored to have at his side."

Rinah's gaze intensified. "I have thought long and hard about it, Prince Loki. I may have thought you were Odin at the time, but I consider my pledge to still hold...to you."

"I cannot hold you to that", Loki said, removing his hands from her shoulders, "I am not the King of Asgard. Thor is our king now."

Rinah nodded. "And I will serve him, as a warrior of Asgard is sworn to do. But my sword and my loyalty belong to you as well. You made me your Captain, Loki. I hope that you will allow me to continue to serve you as such."

Loki looked at her, then solemnly nodded. "I would consider it an honor", he said softly.

Rinah smiled slightly, as she brought her right fist to her heart and bowed her head towards him. "My Prince…" she said.

"Well, Captain, I must be off to talk with my brother. And you, no doubt, have duties to attend to", Loki said, smiling at her. He bowed his head towards her slightly, then turned and left the room. She smiled to herself, then followed.

Some time later she had found the medical supplies she was looking for and was making her way back to the main area, where the wounded were being attended to. She passed by a window and then doubled back, because she saw no stars outside that window. When she looked again, she realized why. The stars bad been blotted out by a very large ship, that was bearing down on them.


End file.
